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The age-old question of whether a professional sports team should grab a player who fills a need or another who is the best available will stand the test of time. Both sides have their pitfalls.
In 1984, the Portland Trail Blazers drafted Kentucky center Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, as the Blazers already had Clyde Drexler at shooting guard and were looking for Bill Walton’s replacement. Bowie played 139 games in Portland. Jordan did okay.
On the flip side, the Chicago Bulls drafted for what they deemed the best talent available in 2001, flipping power forward Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler and picking Eddy Curry two selections later. The Bulls already had Elton Brand and Brad Miller in the frontcourt and started players at guard such as Bryce Drew, Fred Hoiberg and Khalid El-Amin. Instead of drafting for a guard, the Bulls went for broke for something they didn’t truly need. Eddy Curry is currently counting his millions at home, while Tyson Chandler is succeeding…in Dallas.
As NBA executives get ready to wipe away the identities of hundreds of individuals in favor of statistics, height/weight vitals and game tape, it’s imperative to remember that the best way to gauge whether a player is a good fit for a franchise is to mix both need and overall skill level.
This can be done by assigning best- and worst-case scenarios to each player. Will Kyrie Irving be an All-Star or is his toe injury cause for future concern? Will Derrick Williams blossom as the next David West, or will he be struggle to find an NBA identity?
While it’s hard to predict where each player will land, it’s not hard to create best- and worst-case scenarios for the lottery picks in the NBA draft, just like all NBA war rooms will be doing come June.
Here are those scenarios, rankings for the top 50 players and more in-depth insight (articles and videos) about the projected lottery picks in particular.

A Farmers Branch police spokesman said Wednesday that a brawl at a state championship hockey game isn’t being investigated, but he didn’t rule out the possibility that police could launch an inquiry later.“At this point, it’s just going to be the hockey league and the schools’ involvement,” said Detective David Laisure, a department spokesman. “We haven’t intervened at this point.”Laisure said Farmers Branch police had not launched an investigation into the fight at Sunday’s game, which was captured on videotape, in part because they were never called.But he did not rule out the chance that police could investigate even without a complaint from someone involved.Keller Hockey Club president Kevin Wicks said Braxton Mills, the Keller player who blindsided Martin player Jeff SoRelle, was “extremely remorseful.”Before he was hit by Mills, SoRelle, who had been in the penalty box when the fight started, launched himself into Keller’s Travis Hall.Staff writer Scott Goldstein contributed to this report.

He was the ringleader behind Moorehead St’s upset over Louisville and led the nation in rebounding. He has enormous hands and can jump very well.

He grabbed 30 rebounds in two NCAA Tournament games and proved to the world why he was the best rebounder in the nation with great box-out technique and instincts.

Aran Smith of Nbadraft.net is a big fan of Faried offensive game:

“Needs to further develop his post skills. His moves are too predictable even against lesser competition … Lacks any real face the basket skills. Touch and consistency are not great. Scores mostly on put backs and buckets where he gains deep position in the paint, or is able to outclass opponents with his athleticism”

I have to agree with Smith. He was 4-of-17 from the floor against Louisville and has a very flat jump shot. You are going to draft Faried for his rebounding, not his jumper.

NBA Comparison: Jason Maxiell

Maxiell came into the NBA with almost no offensive game to speak of. To date he has never averaged eight points a game, but has put together a solid six seasons in the NBA because of his gritty defense and great rebounding.

I can see Faried following in Maxiell’s footsteps.

One guy that could be on the rise is Jon Leuer from Wisconsin. He has great size and has played well in his career in Madison. However, you have to wonder how he will translate to the next level.
He can shoot from the outside and he appears to be a hard working kid that might end up surprising some people with his high basketball IQ.
ESPN’s Chad Ford thinks that Leuer could have some value in the draft.
“There are a number of NBA teams who need stretch 4s in their offensive schemes, and as far as big-men shooters go, Leuer is one of the best in the draft. Despite playing in the Big Ten, Wisconsin always goes a bit under-scouted. Leuer and teammate Jordan Taylor are probably a bit underrated right now. A big tournament will change that.”
Honestly, I think Leuer might struggle to get drafted. He may be the best player for Wisconsin but I just don’t see him being able to translate to the NBA level.
He is not all that athletic for a guy with his skill set, he also isn’t the strongest guy in the world and will need to add strength to make an impact but the biggest area he is lacking is his rebounding. He is not a very good rebounder and that will hurt his stock.

For years, it has been the Los Angeles Clippers’ M.O.: overachieve against the Lakers, underachieve against the rest of the league.
That’s how it was last season, when the Clippers went 2-2 against their Staples Center mates and 27-51 against the rest of the NBA.
And that’s how it has been this season, really, the Clippers going toe-to-toe with the Lakers in three matchups so far. The first game resulted in a one-point Lakers win, the second a seven-point Clippers win and the third a close game Kobe Bryant dominated down the stretch in a win for the Lakers. All three were classic examples of the Clippers playing up to their level of competition.”We’ve seen that from them for years now,” Bryant said after practice Thursday. “I think the difference is now, they actually have actual talent. They have guys who can actually play, and do what they do against us on a consistent basis. Blake [Griffin], and Eric Gordon, who I love, and [Chris] Kaman. They have some talent over there.”
Griffin, averaging 22.4 points and 12 rebounds, is a lock for Rookie of the Year. Gordon’s scoring average — 23.7 points per game — would rank ninth in the league if he had played enough games to be eligible. Kaman was an All-Star last season and is averaging 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per 36 minutes since sitting out three months because of a sprained ankle.
There’s still a gap between the two teams, especially with the Lakers possessing one of the most talented rosters they’ve had in years. But the gap seems to be losing.
“I think we’re getting there,” said Kaman, the longest-tenured Clipper. “The battles with the Lakers have been up and down. We’ve had times where we’ve played really well and we’ve beaten them, and this year’s been that same way. They have a great team, they have great players and they know how to win late in games.
“We’ve had a long rivalry with that team and we haven’t always done a good job of keeping the numbers in our favor.”
That’s a good way to put it. There was a time — for a couple of years in between the last good Clippers team in 2005-2006 and early in 2009 — during which the Clippers simply couldn’t beat the Lakers. They’ve rebounded since to consistently be competitive, not only against the Lakers but against other teams commonly considered to be the class of the NBA, like the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Credit that to the new guys.
“Blake has really proven himself there and that obviously helps us down the stretch when we get calls and stuff like that,” Kaman said Thursday. “It’s never been that way since the last time, when Sam [Cassell] and Elton [Brand] and Cat [Mobley] and [Shaun] Livingston and myself were here. We haven’t got calls since then, and it’s tough.”You’d like to say that it’s not intentional, that it’s just how it is, but I think everybody knows what the Clippers have been about and the struggles we’ve had. I think the young guys have done a good job of trying to change that culture.”
There has been a lot said about that culture-changing process. Nationally, it’s almost as if some perceive draftees and potential free-agent signees dread coming to the Clippers and instantly becoming second-class basketball citizens.
Kaman said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Honestly, I don’t even think they realized it,” he said of Gordon, Griffin and other recent imports to the squad. “You hear about it and you see it, but it’s not so much that the Clippers are the second team in L.A., it’s just that the Lakers won a championship the last two years. Everybody knows who they are and everybody knows the history on the Clippers.
“Those guys, I don’t think they really know that they don’t want to be who the Clippers have been in the past — they just know they want to win.”
First-year Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro tends to stick to the basics in his coaching. In this case that means he’s steering far clear of predicting any changing of the guard.
“I honestly don’t worry about that stuff,” Del Negro said Thursday, his Clippers 16 games under .500 with just 10 games left this season. “You change things by winning. The Lakers have had consistent success for a number of years. They’re the two-time defending champs.
“We have a lot of growing and a lot of maturing to do to get to that level of consistency.”Friday’s game, a designated Lakers home game, is the final matchup of the season for the two teams, an opportunity for the Clippers to again finish the year with a split against the the Lakers — one of their final opportunities to beat an elite team.
And, as they often do against big-time teams, they’re embracing the chance.
“It’s not like every team has two teams in one city that play in the same arena,” said Clippers forward Craig Smith, who brings up the late-game altercation in the Clippers’ January win over the Lakers as evidence of the rivalry’s intensity. “I mean, you have the Lakers, who have won a lot of championships, and you have the Clippers, who are sort of having a rebirth, full of energy and a youthful sense of mind.
“It’s more than just the game, you know? Because guys really want to win that game, so it’s about willing to do whatever.”
And that’s how the gap might close.

The vagabond wide receiver left the New England Patriots amid less-than-desirable circumstances last season, but seems to have discovered he never had it better.
“If you’re asking me where my heart and where I’m happy is, I love playing with Tom Brady. I love being coached by Bill Belichick,” Moss said Wednesday on KFAN 1NDTV & Nirmal Lifestyle today launched the “Fit India Movement”, a first of its kind long- term campaign to change the way India thinks about fitness and inspire us to become a healthier nation. Mission 1 of the campaign is “Marks for Sports”, which aims to develop fitter, active and healthier lifestyles for the youth of today. The core belief of this campaign lies within the premise that if schools and more importantly, different boards of education include Sports as a part of the main curriculum, then parents, as well as children, will devote more time to sports, setting them on the path of a lifetime of fitness.
To launch the initiative, Development & Campaign Ambassador, Ranbir Kapoor joined Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV and Mr. Dharmesh Jain, Chairman & MD of Nirmal Lifestyle in New Delhi. Also present at the launch were legendary cricketer MAK Pataudi, Olympic boxer Vijender Singh, India’s Football Captain Baichung Bhutia, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Gagan Narang and seven times World Billiards and Snooker Champion Pankaj Advani.
The year-long ‘Marks for Sports’ campaign aims to reach out to policy and decision makers across the country with a series of activities. These will include special televised debates and discussion programmes with the Campaign Ambassador, televised interactive ground activities with sportspersons and children and a signature drive asking for policy changes with pledges for donations and equipment. Also included will be a school connect programme, to motivate and encourage students and their parent to accept Sports as part of the main curriculum.

Commenting on the Initiative, said Development & Campaign Ambassador Actor Ranbir Kapoor, “Sports has become big in the hearts and mind of Indians now, especially after the success of our Athletes and Sport’s stars at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. I really believe this is a great initiative to catalyze awareness for Sports and Fitness to be part of our daily lives. And what better way to do this than to make Sports a part of every child’s school curriculum. I know that I would have enjoyed my school days much more, had sports been given more importance”

Speaking at the event, Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV, said “Indian parents are now so totally focussed on studies that we are ignoring other aspects of a child’s development. As a result child obesity is rising alarmingly and most of young India is not fit. The consequence is a rise in disease and illnesses related to being unfit. It’s time we focussed on redressing the balance and making India healthy and fit. Yes, focus on studies but focus on sports and fitness too.”

According to Mr. Dharmesh Jain, Chairman & MD of Nirmal Lifestyle, “A major statement any country in the world makes between its journey from developing to developed nation is Sports. For India the time has arrived to parallel its economic development with sports development to create its own major space amongst developed nations”.

“Physical fitness is the key to a successful lifestyle. The youth of today ‘is’ India’s tomorrow. With this movement we urge school boards across India to initiate their participation to endorse a more active and healthier outlook in their student’s lives. We are extremely pleased and thankful to NDTV for partnering with us in this movement.”

Baichung Bhutia voiced what all the panelists felt, that coaches and infrastructure were the most important aspects to be developed for future of sports in the country.

To which Gagan Narang added, “Kheloge koodoge banoge Nawaab, padhoge likhoge banoge kharab (if you play and be active you could become a King, but if you only study and do nothing else you will be worthless)”

LETS HELP OUR CHILDREN MAKE A MARK FOR THEMSELVES
GIVE THEM “MARKS FOR SPORTS”

About NDTV
NDTV Ltd, founded in 1988, is India’s largest news and infotainment network. It is home to the country’s best and brightest reporters, anchors, camerapersons and producers; 23 offices and studios across the country host India’s most modern and sophisticated production, newsgathering and archiving facilities. NDTV has an unmatched track record of successfully launching three news channels in India and two abroad: NDTV 24×7 is a clear leader in the English news segment, NDTV Profit, a 24-hour business plus channel, is India’s number one business news channel, and NDTV India is amongst the country’s leading Hindi news channels. It is credited with pioneering several broadcasting and programming initiatives in Indian television and has expanded into one of the nation’s biggest broadcasting houses by growing beyond news broadcasting and venturing into non news verticals. For more information visit www.ndtv.com.

About Nirmal Lifestyle
Nirmal Lifestyle is a leading real estate company in India based in Mumbai, where it has been instrumental in developing Mulund as a preferred suburb of the city through its integrated development plan for the suburb that includes developing retail spaces, residential apartments, office spaces and luxury hotels. The company has an exclusive alliance with US Open (USTA) and Discovery to bring to India world class sporting facilities of international standards. It will also enter into alliances with four more global sports federations in the next three months which will enable the company to develop sports infrastructure and facilities. It also plans to bring global sports events to India through its exclusive partnership with these federations.30-AM in Minneapolis.

Moss joined guest host and Minnesota Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson to chat about a wild 2010 season. Moss started out in New England, passed quietly through Minnesota and concluded the year with the Tennessee Titans.

Moss’ combined stats were a lackluster 28 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns. He will be a free agent once a new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated.

He also said he’d love to return to the Vikings and seemed to randomly add he would play for the Cleveland Browns or Seattle Seahawks if they wanted him.

“Wherever it is, I just want somebody to respect what I do,” Moss said. “The loyalty that I believe in, man, I think that teams that I play for … I just like loyalty, and I want that around me. Whoever wants me, that’s where I’m going to play at.”

But he stressed his affection for the Patriots in particular.
“I think that just the success as a wide receiver and everything that the New England Patriots stand for, you know, I’m a big fan of Bill Belichick’s,” Moss said. “I really am, and not just on the field. I’m a fan of his off the field because, you know, the little grouchy man that you see on camera is not what you see off camera.

“And people say ‘Well, Moss, you got traded to Minnesota from New England!’ Well, I just told y’all this is a business, man. People have to understand the nature of the business. It’s not just a sport. The sport comes along with the business. If you really don’t think it’s a business, then why they sitting there, fighting over $9 billion?”

Should the Patriots consider signing Moss?

They do need an outside threat who can stretch a defense. But Moss turned 34 last month, and the Patriots went 11-1 without him, winning another AFC East title.

Moss also might need to mend fences with New England’s coaching staff before anything can happen. ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss reported a verbal altercation between Moss and playcaller Bill O’Brien at halftime of their Week 4 victory over the Miami Dolphins marked Moss’ last game for the Patriots.

The New York media in all of its myriad forms is collectively capable of convincing their readers or viewers of just about anything.
How to vote, what to eat, who to admire, where to go generally speaking.
They like to cajole, implore, demand that breaking news takes place, so, well breaking news can take place. Headlines can blare. The cash register goes Ka Ching.And then the process starts once more.

Except this time around Alex Rodriguez will have to go.

Derek Jeter won’t be worth the money.

Eli Manning and his brother won’t be mentioned in the same breath.

Michael Vick will be an inspirational story.

The New York media reserves the right to walk tall and change their mind, in a year, in a month, in a week, in a day.

We’re just wondering how long it will be before they do an about face—at least a partial—on the Knicks recent blockbuster deal for Carmelo Anthony.The team is now 2-3 in the week or so since ‘Melo and Chauncey arrived and the three young guns, ‘Gallo, Chandler and Felton were sent packing.

Unfortunately the nice win in Miami Sunday night doesn’t count for anything more than the loss the Friday before against the putrid, Lebron-less Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now comes a make or break stretch that includes 17 games in the month of March, the majority against teams competing for a playoff spot, and these new fangled Knicks find themselves in need of breaking one very large habit that has seemingly plagued them from the seasons opening tip.

Well make that two habits.

One, the glaring absence of a true defensive front or mindset, the other, the ultra annoying tendency of finding a way to lose.

Yes, the team’s got plenty of talent. They had plenty when ‘Gallo, Chandler, and Felton were on the squad, and they look to have even more now, at least in the short term, with Carmelo Anthony and the veteran point Chauncey Billups joining Amare Stoudemire, Landry Fields and Rony Turiaf in the starting line up.

But their record, 30-28, reeks of mediocrity.

Better than the last five or six years? No doubt.

Remembering Double D.

But like NFL icon Bill Parcells likes to say you are what your record says you are and the Knicks need to pick it up and start winning at a far more prodigious rate before this deal to bring ‘Melo and Mr. Big Shot to Madison Square Garden can be heralded in Knick lore the way the coming of Dave Debusschere for Walt Bellamy was as an almost immediate pre cursor to New York’s championship march in ’69/’70.

Of course if the Knicks put back object of affection Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets tonight at the Garden that ultra exciting deal that just had to be made talk will be back in full force again.

A revenge match against the Cadavers on Friday night also at MSG should perpetuate the good vibes leading up to an important four game stretch against Atlanta, Utah, Memphis and the Dallas Mavericks.

We won’t look beyond this six game run, and if the team wins four or five out of the half dozen there’s little doubt the expansive media birds will be chirping.

Split the six and for all the positive spin you can put on it the Knicks are where they are right now, two games over .500 struggling to hold onto the sixth seed in the playoff race.

Lose four or five out of six and there will be whispers about chemistry, about D’Antoni’s system, about this Carmelo Anthony alter ego—you know the one who can’t throw the ball in the ocean for stretches at a tim, we’ll call him ‘Melo Light—and the less of him New York sees the better because the same way the Heat can’t win when Dwayne Wade gets shut down, the reconfigured Knickerbockers will struggle mightily when Anthony is putting up enough bricks to build a small pagoda.

How good can ‘Gallo be?

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Yes, as a whole there is reason for optimism, as much because Donnie Walsh is seemingly in charge and he has managed over the course of two years and change to completely turn over the suffering pig of a roster laid in his lap by the two stooges James ‘I Play In A Blues Band’ Dolan and his favorite son, brother, partner in crime, Isiah Thomas.

But as of now we don’t for certain if Walsh will get the much hoped for invitation to stay on.

We don’t know if a Mike D’Antoni team will ever be able to play the type of resolute defense over extended periods required to win not only big games, but big series.

And until a much larger sampling is in we really don’t know if the combination of Anthony and Billups will contribute that much more to the teams well being than Gallinari, Chandler and Felton would have been able to, not just for the remainder of 2010/2011, but going forward, when Gallo at least figures to turn into a Dirk Nowitski like monster.

It may all turn out great. The Knicks can plausibly win a bunch of games and press deep enough into the post season to validate all the high hopes the New York media and a lot of the teams fan base has been excitedly piping about.

But you really never know about these things.

The self same Knicks may just continue to bounce up and down amidst the balance of the regular season road. Turn out to be an easy first round playoff out and this big deal we’ve been hearing so much about may turn out to be no big deal after all.

Hopefully it’ll be the former, but to find out the games do have to be played.

One thing that’s for certain is all the media talk in the world won’t win a single one of those.

INDIANAPOLIS — As expected, the Colts are ensuring Peyton Manning isn’t going anywhere.
Manning, an 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback, received the team’s franchise tag on Tuesday, according to Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim Irsay’s Twitter account.
“We have placed the Franchise Tag on Peyton while we continue to negotiate a long term deal,” Irsay tweeted.
The Colts are expected to keep the tag on Manning until the sides can agree to a long-term deal, but in the NFL’s uncertain labor climate, franchise tags are in dispute. The NFLPA’s stance is that the tags mean nothing if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement isn’t reached before March 4.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is reporting that Manning’s franchise tag is worth more than $23 million. Irsay has said publicly he expects to make Manning the NFL’s highest-paid player.
The Colts previously used the franchise tag on Manning in 2004, then shortly thereafter signed him to a seven-year contract worth $98 million. Manning has been named The Associated Press’ Most Valuable Player a record four times.Read More: Colts AFC South NFL Free Agency NFL Quarterbacks NFL Labor Negotiations jim+irsay, peyton+manning, peyton+manning+contract, peyton+manning+contract+extension